A few years ago, CC held a campaign contest that I decided to enter. I figure after all this time, there's no harm in sharing what I had drafted up for its design.

SynopsisThe Administrator has tasked you with assembling a crew of mercenaries to take on a rival corporation. You must not only convince each to join your company of ill-repute, but also keep these unique personalities from killing one another! No easy task when their grip on reality is already so tenuous.

Cast

Scout - In debt with the mob, and always looking for the easy way out.

Lancer - A drunkard, suppressing the terrifying memories of a long-ago run-in with a terrifying beast.

Asher - Likes to cook. Can't. Crush his dreams.

Gunner - He likes guns. Big guns. It wasn't hard to hire him, which is why he's already part of your team! Keeping him from killing the others, though, that might take some work. Everyone is always after his Sandvich and leaving fingerprints on Sascha!

Grenadier - After losing his eye from an errant twitch of potassium chloride, the Grenadier has also lost all confidence in himself. Needing to make ends meet, he is now working as a traveling salesman with the title of Demo Manager, but his product demonstrations never seem to go right. Goal: Rekindle his love of the explosive.

Engineer - Rich and successful, having invented many top selling home products, such as the OmniSuck Vaccum, he has little care or reason to join you. Money is not an issue for him, so you'll have to take another approach: In his position of power, his vice has become his ego. Goal: Steal the Engineer's latest invention designs and frame the BLU corporation. What better motivation than revenge?

Sniper - Has disappeared into the mountains. No one has seen or heard of him since.

Spy - Out on a hit. Find his target to find him, but be careful not to get in his way before you can offer him a job!

Event Outline

Recruit Gunner, explore new base

Grenadier & Lancer

Base interlude

Engineer vs. Spy

Base interlude

Sniper vs. Scout

Base interlude

Medic vs. Asher

Base interlude

BLU Assault

Betrayal

The Twist!

MissionsHeadhunting: "There can be only one"You can bring along one merc on each mission, provided there is at least one unit left to guard the base while you're away. The Administrator will only allow you to bring one bodyguard for fear of drawing too much attention otherwise.

Mission 1: Recruit Gunner - Teaches basic point capture

Setup: Meet up with the Gunner on the outskirts of a BLU-controlled base. Proceed to haggle his price, exploiting his less-than-keen mathmatical aptitude.

Gameplay: Clear out the base from BLU occupation and cap its point to establish ownership.

Conclusion: Administrator congratulates your success, and offers you a chance to explore your surroundings before your next assignment.

Mission 2: Recruit Grenadier - Teaches point defense

Setup: Find a dejected Grenadier peddling wares as a traveling salesman. Although he holds the title of Demo Manager, his demonstrations never seem to go right. Sign up to take his class, then follow him afterward to his favorite pub. He meets up with his best mate, the Lancer, and they swap "war" stories. Approach them and offer the Grenadier a job. Although the money is good, the Grenadier cannot bring himself to work with explosives after his accident. Besides, he's got everything he needs: whisky, a fine place to drink it in, and his drinking buddy. Money wouldn't change that.

Gameplay: Defend pub from the mob with the Grenadier and Lancer. Enemies will attempt to capture its point.

Conclusion: Pub catches fire. Roof collapses, separating Lancer and Grenadier. You must choose one of them to save before pub explodes.

Setup: Meet with the Engineer, who turns down your employment offer. As top inventor and president of his own company, he has little need or interest in your endeavors. Before you go, though, he'll give you a product demonstration. Outside, you decide that in order to provide him motive, you will secretly contract the services of a Spy.

Setup: Meet with the Sniper, who tells you he cannot join until he completes his current contract. The mob wishes one of their top runners be made an example. However, he has learned that the runner is making a very lucrative delivery tonight. If you can help the Sniper take that delivery without his mob employers finding out, he'll gladly help you.

Gameplay: Befriend the Scout. Desperate for a hand, the Scout offers to cut you in on his delivery if you help him. To do so, you must push a trade cart to the meeting point. Snipers will attempt to take out the Scout while other units attack you. To defend the Scout, run him under the cover of barricades. These will block a shot before being destroyed. Difficulty increases as snipers attack from both flanks and barricades become less common. Two-thirds along the route you can rest in a warehouse.

Conclusion: In the warehouse, you must choose to continue along the Scout's route, or open the alternative route suggested by the Sniper. If you betray the Scout, sniper fire will scare him off, but you must continue to brave the other attackers so the mob won't be suspicious and get the delivery to the Sniper's drop point. Alternatively, forget the Sniper's deal and help the Scout complete his deal, earning his trust and allegiance in the face of his employer's betrayal.

Setup: Under arrest and standing trial for severe malpractice, the Medic is obviously indisposed at the moment. To help him, you may attempt to bribe the judge or influence the jury. If successful, the Medic goes to a minimum security prison. If botched, the Medic is sentenced to a maximum security prison. The system just isn't what it used to be. With that in mind, a file in a cake just won't do. You'll need to blow up the joint. Literally.

Gameplay: Push a bomb cart through the prison courtyard, though you'll have to take a few detours on foot to open up various gates in your path.

Conclusion: Once you reach the doctor's cell, you can spring him. However, his cell mate will want to come too. Leave him or bring him? If you leave him, he grabs a flamethrower from the now-exposed prison weapons depot and tries to kill you. If you take him, he'll grab the same flamethrower and help you on your final escape. However, back at base, he will kill the Medic for having taken top bunk in their cell earlier.

Side quests - Between each mission, you reside at your base along with anyone you've recruited. When talking with them, you'll receive a side quest from each one that can be completed to unlock their final ability.

Mission 6: Showdown with BLU - Teaches a full game of point capture and defense. The mercs screwed over by your decisions will now be found on the BLU team.

Betrayal: "Failure is (not) an Option" - You've done well. Too well. The Administrator now commands you to fail. Do so, and you fail. Ignore her, and things get ugly. Fast. You were only hired to be average, but you've tipped the balance between RED vs BLU.

A micro orientated campaign that was embedded into the gameplay instead of map design gimmicks... that actually sound fun if you actually got somewhere, especially since I haven't the chance to try STF because there are no one to really play with...

The campaign was intended to be an introduction and tutorial tool for the new gameplay mechanics planned for the newest edition of STF that was in development. As you can probably gather, these included point capture and payload pushing.